Cementing apparatus



2 Sheets-Sheet l s. E. `MANNING CEMENTINQ APPARATUS Filed July 6, 1931 Jan. 23, 1934.,

filiali 34 Sanford Emily, a'afevz Jan. 23, 1934. s. E. MANNING CEMENTING APPARATUS Filed July 6. 1931 Patented Jan. 23, 1934l A yUNI'IED STATES- .PATENT orificey Tex., by Mrs. S. Houston, Tex.

E. Manning, administratrix,

Application July 6,1931. Serial No. 548,817

17 Claims.

This invention relates to cementing apparatus. One object of the invention is to providelapparatus of the character described specially designed for the purpose of cementing la screen 5 in a well bore. Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described whereby plastic cementitious material may be introduced into a well bore and collected into the space between the screen and the walls of the bore at the upper and/or lower-ends of the screen to seal 'off water stratum above and/or beneath theoil bearing stratum opposite which the screen is set. Another object of the invention is to provide whereby the cement may be introduced into the bore and allowed to set to form surrounding barriers adjacent the upper and/or lower ends of the screen to seal ol Water from above and beneath all at a single operation. y Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described assembled with the screen `and setting string of such construction as to exclude all cement from the screen during the cementing operation and which may be removed from the screen after the cement has set and it is desired to bring the well The invention herein disclosed comprises certain improvements over that disclosed in the application of said Sanford E. Manning on Apparatus and process for cementing wells, Serial No. 499,989, filed December 4, 1930.

With the above and other objects in view the invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, an example of 'which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a Vertical sectional view of the upper end of lthe apparatus.

Figure 2 shows a vertical sectional view of the screen and adjacent parts.

Figure 3 shows a vertical sectional view of an intermediate section located beneath the screen, and

Figure 4 shows a vertical sectional View of the lower end of the apparatus.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures the numeral designates a tubular setting string of pipe to the lower end of which the `elongated special coupling 2 is attached and connected to the lower end of this coupling is the tubular screen 3- of any selected design.

cementing apparatus of the character described (c1. isc-1) Connected to the lower end of the screen by the coupling 4 there is a tubular support 5 surrounding which there is a flexible sack like container 6 whose upper and lower ends respectively are secured to the upper and lower ends of the said support 5. Suitably attached to the lower vend of the support 5 there is an elongated special coupling 'I whose lower end is screwed on to the' -pipe 8 which in turn is connected at its lower end to aconventional set shoe 9 whose lower end has 65 the outlet opening 10 controlled by a back pressure valve 11 of any selected design. There is a flexible sack like container 12 whose lower end is secured around the upper end of the screen beneath the coupling 2 and this container 70 extends any desired distance upwardly and itsl upper end may be open. There'is a cement conducting tube having the lowersection 13, the intermediate section 14 and the upper section 15. The lower section' 13 of 75 this Vtube is connected by left hand threads 16 into the set shoe 9 and the intermediate section 14 of said tube is-connected to the upperend of. said lower section 13. The lower end of the upper section 15 of said tube is connected by left hand 80 threads 17 into the upper end of the section A14 and this upper section 15 extends up axially through the coupling 2. Around the intermediate section 14 are the lower intermediate'and upper packing rings 18, 19 and 20, respectively, formed of suitable expansible' material. The lower packing ring 18 is seated on a suitable external annular shoulder on the intermediate tube section 14 and between the packing rings 18, 19 there is a suitable spacer sleeve 22 which surrounds the intermediate section 14 and ts closely within the lower end of the support 5 and the coupling 7 attached thereto. I Fitted within the packing rings 19, 20 respectively are the glands 23, 24 whose upper ends have the outwardly turned flanges 25, 26 which rest against the upper ends of the corresponding packing rings 19, 20. y

There is a spacer sleeve 27 fitted closely with the tubular support 5 Whose lower end abuts the flange 25 and whose upper end is fitted around the gland 24 and abuts the packing ring 20.

.There is a coupling 28 which is connected onto the upper end of the intermediate tube section 14 by means of left hand threads 29 and the lower, end of this coupling abuts the upper end of the flange 26. A

Within the upper coupling 2 there are the expansible lower and upper packing rings 30, 31 which are held spaced apart by the annular spacer ring 32. These packing rings 30, 31 and the spacer ring 32 are tted within said coupling 2 and closely surround an inside coupling 33 upper tube section 15 extends.

. ing ring 37 which is conned between the inside annular shoulder 38, of the nipple 36, and the upper end of the coupling 33.

Conlined within an external annular groove 39, around the upper end of the coupling 33 there is an expansible ring 40 and beneath the groove 39 there is an internal annular grooveY 41 around the lower end of the nipple 36 all for a purpose to be hereinafter explained Fitted closely within the intermediate tube section 14 there is a sleeve valve 42 whose lower end is seated on a strong coil spring 43 and this coil spring in turn is supported on the upper end of the nipple 44 which is screwed into the intermediate tube section 14', which is shown in Figure 3, and normally, the spring 43 holds the upper end of the valve 42 against the inside annular seat 45 above. The valve in this position will close the outlet ports 46, 47 through the walls of the intermediate section 14.

The apparatus is assembled as hereinabove described and then let down into`the well bore to the bottom thereof. Washing iluid may then be forced down through the setting string and will pass on down through the conducting tube formed of the sections 15, 14 and 13 past the back pressure valve 11 out through the opening 10 and up about the screen and setting string to the ground surface and the screen 3 may thus be washedclean.` Aball48isthen droppedthrough thesetting string 1 and will pass o'n down'and land on the upper end of the sleeve valve 42.

A load of plastic cementitious material is then placedinthe upperendofthesettingstringl and a plug like plunger 49 is inserted above said load and fluid under pressure is their applied against the upper end of said pllmger preferably by pump, and the plunger and the load of plastic material ahead of it are forced downwardly andsaidmaterial willpassondownthroughthe conducting tube and the pressure against the walls of the bore and a portion of said ccmenti tious material will pas through the bypass channels 53 leading downwardly between the spacer sleeve 2'1 and the intermediate tubmar' section 14 and willpassthencein throughthe -ports46and50andondownandoutpastthe backpressurevalvellandthroughtheopening 10 and up arolmd the set' shoe pipes, and coupling71mtilit'is stoppedby thecnntainer6andsaidplascmaterialwillnow -thencethroughthechannels53inthewallof channels 54 leading upwardly through the intermediate tubular section 14 and will pass thence upwardly through the channel 55 around the upper section 15 of the conducting tube and thence outwardly through the ports 56 and through the channels 57, in the walls of the upper coupling 2 and out through the ports 58 into the sack 12 and said sack will be filled with cementitious ma terial and expanded out against ythe -surrounding walls of the bore.

The screw threaded connections between the parts hereinbefore referred to are right hand threaded connections except as otherwise speciiied. Y

The cement in the expanded sacks or containers 6 and 12 is then allowed to set and when it has set the plug 49 will be drilled out and a suitable shing tool such as a tapering tap, is then lowered and engaged with the tubular nipple 36 and said nipple is backed up until the annular groove 4l registers with the annular groove 39 and thereupon the locking ring 40 will expand and lock said nipple with the coupling 33. When the nipple 36 is backed oil the packing 30, 31 will be relaxed and as the nipple 36 is further turned the coupling 33, the pipe 34 and the coupling 28 will be turned with it, and said last mentioned coupling will be backed oil' or unscrewed from the upper end of the intermediate section 14 thus relaxing the packer sleeves 20, 19, 18 and at the same time, the upper section 15 will also be' unscrewedrom saidintermediate section 14 and when the sections l5, 14 have been separated, said tubular section l5 and the pipe sect-ion 34 and the appendants thereof may be withdrawn from the well leaving the screen free and "the well ready for production.

16 backed o and the pipe 13 and the appendants Y thereon withdrawn and the set shoe may then be drilled out and the bore deepened.

If for any reason the cementitious material beneath the screen may have set so as to make it impossible to back ot the pipe 13 a milling tool may be employed for the purpose of .g out the parts beneath the screento permit deeper drilling.

The drawings and description disclose what is now considered to be a preferred form of the invention by way of illustration only while the broad principle of the invention will be dened by the appended claims. Y

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a 'tubular setting string and a screen attached thereto, of expansible containers one above and the other beneath the screen, a conducting tube through which cementitious material may be conducted down through the screen, packing about said tube above and beneath the screen, there being passagewaysleading from said tube into the lower container and into the well bore beneath said lower container and Areturn channels leading from the bore beneath said lower container into the upper container.

2. The combination with a string of pipe and a screen attached thereto, of expansible containers therearound, one above and the other beneath the screen; a conducting tube leading downwardly through the screen, there being outlet channels leading outwardly from said tube some terminating in the lower container and some terminating in the well bore beneath the rlower container, there beingv return channels leading from the bore beneathsaid lower container into the upper container.

3. The combination with a string of pipe and j a screen attached thereto, of expasible containers therearound, one above and the-other beneath the screen, a conducting tube leading 'a screen attachedthereto, of expansible containers therearound, one above and the other beneath the screen,` a conducting tube leading downwardly through the screen, there being outlet channels leading outwardly from said tube some terminating in the lower container and some terminating in the well bore beneath the lower container, there being return channels leading from the borebeneath said lower container into the upper container, and packing about the tube above and below the screen.

5. The combination with a string of pipeand a screen attached thereto, of expansible containers therearound, one above and the other beneath the screen, a conducting tube leading downwardly through the screen, there being outlet channels leading outwardly from said tube some terminating in the lower container and some terminating in the well bore beneath thelower container, there being return channels leadingfrom the bore beneath said lower container into the upper container, packing about said tube the tube into the bore around the string above and beneath said screen.

7. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein, in a well bore, of a tube through the screen, packing means above and beneath the screen for closing the space lbetween said tube and string, there being channels leading from saidtube through which plastic, cementitious material may be delivered from the tube into the bore around the string vcontrolling the flow fluid from the tube into said channel.

9. The combination with a string of pipe having 4a screen incorporated therein, in a well bore,

of a tube through the screen, packing means above and beneath the screen for closing the space between said tube and string said string having passageways through which plastic,` cementitious material may be delivered into the bore around the string above'and below the screen.

10. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein, in a well bore, of a tube through the screen, packing means above and beneath the screen for closing the `space between said tube and string, said stringhaving passageways through which plastic, cementitious material may be delivered into the bore around the string above and below the screen, and means forming barriers to exclude said plastic material inthe bore from reaching the screen.

11. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein', in a well bore. oi.' a tube through the screen, packing means above and beneath the screen for closing the space between said tube and string, containers around the string,` one above and the other beneath, the screen, there being passageways for plastic, cementitious material through which said material may pass from said tube into said ,containers.

l2. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein, an expansible container about the string beneath the screen, an;expansible container about the string above the screen, a tube through the screen, means above and beneath the screen closing the space between the. tube and screen, there being passageways one leading frm the tube into the lowx er container, and one leading from the outside of the string beneath the lower container into `the upper container. l

1?.. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein, an expansible container about the string beneath the screen, an expansible container'about the string above the screen, a tube through the screen, means above and beneath the screen closing the space between the tube and screen, there being passageways one leading from the tube into the lower container, and one leading from the outside of the string beneath the lower container into the upper container, and a valve in the tube normallly closing said passageway into the lower container.

-14. The combination with a string of pipe having a screen incorporated therein, Van expansible container about the string beneath the screen, an expansible container about the string above the screen-l a tube through the screen, means above and beneath the screen closing the spa'ce between thetube and screen, there being passageways one leading from the tube into the lower container, and one leading from the outside of the string beneath the lower container into the upper container, and a' valve in the tube normallyclosing lsaid passageway into the lower container there being a by-pass, normally closed by said valve and leading from said last mentioned passageway into the tube beneath said valve.

15. The combination with a string of pipe for Iuse in a well bore and having a perforated section, of a tube through said section, there being channels leading from the tube through which a sealing material may be delivered from the tube into the'bore around the string at spaced locations, and a valve normally closing said channels.

16. The combination with a string of pipe for use in a well bore and having a perforated section, of a tube through said section, there being channels leading from the tube through which a sealing material may `be delivered from the tube into the bore around the string'at spaced locations, and a valvenormally closing said channels said valve being adapted to be exposed to pressure above whereby the valve may be moved to Open said channels.

17. The combination with a string (of pipe having a screen incorporated therein and adapted for use in a Well bore, of a tube through the screen, there being channels through which a sealing material may be conducted from the tubev 

